to listen or purchase
Rob Brill, drummer and keyboard player for the LA based funk/soul band Stedapol C.C. Watt resists any temptation for the band to be labeled as a nostalgia act. "We're not looking back 30 years," he said in an article that appeared on buzzbands.la. "We're keeping it contemporary." Now, a statement like that begs for interpretation - especially after you take one listen to the band's very good CD Glassell Park Grit. Everything from the vocals to the instrumentation places this album in a certain place and time. That place and time is the fusion of southern soul with rock/funk/jazz fusion that was coming out of California in the late 1960s and early to mid 70s.
Rob Brill, drummer and keyboard player for the LA based funk/soul band Stedapol C.C. Watt resists any temptation for the band to be labeled as a nostalgia act. "We're not looking back 30 years," he said in an article that appeared on buzzbands.la. "We're keeping it contemporary." Now, a statement like that begs for interpretation - especially after you take one listen to the band's very good CD Glassell Park Grit. Everything from the vocals to the instrumentation places this album in a certain place and time. That place and time is the fusion of southern soul with rock/funk/jazz fusion that was coming out of California in the late 1960s and early to mid 70s.
So what could the elder Brill have meant by the above statement? Here's my take. Stedapol C.C. Watt has a sound as unique and distinctive as their name because you can't say that the group copied the sound of any group from that town. Okay, lead vocalist and guitarist Rodney Gardiner has a little Charles Wright in his vocals, but not enough to say he's an imitator. While Stedapol C.C. Watt can't be called a copy cat band, they certainly capture the essence of the halcyon days of California funk through their skilled musicianship, passionate vocals and excellent lyricism It doesn't matter whether the band is singing a soulful ballad such as "Ain't Too Late" or an anti-war anthem like "Brother In A Box," Stedapol C.C. Watt has the chops to transport their listeners back to the days when funk bands ruled the earth while keeping them in the here and now.
Notable tracks: Same Way, Samba Soul, Lisa Leaving Queens, Brother in a Box
Vocals: 3.0
Lyrics: 3.0
Instrumentation: 4.0
Production: 4.0
Soultracks call: Highly Recommended
By Howard Dukes